Hydraulic governor valve



Sept. 4, 1945.

W. L. ALBERT, JR

HYDRAULIC GOVERNOR VALVE Filed Jan. 3, 1944 INVENTOR W. L. AL B ERT B ATTOR YS Patented Sept. 4, 1945 HYDRAULIC GOVERNOR VALVE Walter L. Albert, Jr., Seminole, Okla., assignor to Phillips Petroleum Company, a corporation of Delaware Application January 3, 1944, Serial No. 516,198

6 Claims.

This invention relates to'a mode of operation for a Kobe pump and provides a governor- 4valve which operates to close of! the supply of fuel to the engine operating the pump to force liquid down the well to operate the pump within the well in the event of a break anywhere in the system.

In the production of wells at certain periods of the oil well's life it is economical to use -a Kobe pump in lifting the oil to the surface of the ground. This period is generally immediately after the well has ceased to lift the fluid to the surface of the ground by its own energy. The well will have a high fluid level and it will be necessary to use some secondary means to lift the oil from the well. Various pumping means are employed, some of which are pumps operated on a gas-lift principle, the Reda pump which is a submerged electrically operated pump, a fluid operated pump such as the Kobe and sucker rod pumps. The present invention deals only with the Kobe pump.

In the operation of the Kobe pump, the pump is placed in the well suspended from tubing and a packer seals the space between the pump and the casing. Generally the pump comprises a fluid motor to which a pump of thewreciprocating type is attached, the motor being operated may become broken:

by fiuid forced down through the tubing from the surface of the ground. The motive fluid used is the crude oil being produced from the well after it has had a thorough cleaning on the surface of the ground to remove sand and grit,

and also any water being produced along with the cil. The exhaust 'from the fluid motor is discharged into the flow line leading from the pump in the well bore and comes back to the surface of the ground with the fluid being pumped from the well bore. v

The present invention adds a governor valve to the iiow system of a Kobe pump to slow or shut down the prime mover on the surface of the ground on a single well or to act as a pilot valve to actuate a pilot operated valve to decrease or stop the flow of power oil to a Kobe pump operating in a well bore o'r to stop a Kobe cally since the operation of the Kobe pump does not require that an attendant be present at all times. Some of the abnormal conditions which may occur in the operation of a well are listed:

(1) 'I'he power oil tubing leading from the surface of the ground to the pump in the well 'bore may become broken; f

(2) 'Ihe production tubing leading from the pump in the well bore to the surface of the ground may become broken;

(3) The liner in the pump in the well bore (4) A split pump .dash pot may occur in the pump in the well bore;

(5) The pump `in the well 'bore may develop a broken middle rod; l

(6) The seats of the pump in the well bore may cut out. 'l

(7) The liquid level in the well bore may become pumped down and so below the level of the pump in the well bore;

(8) A sudden burst of gas may come into the well bore and either gas lock the pump in the well bore or produce a highly gaseous liquid:

(9) The well may suddenly develop venough pressure in the formation to lift the fluid in the well bore to the surface of the ground without the aid'of the pump;

(10) Any condition causing decrease in the pressure or increase in the volume required during regular operations of the pump within the well bore.- g 1 It is an'object of the invention to provide a control means in the closed circuit of the operation cycle voi? a Kobe pump, to close ofi' thev prime mover on the surface of the ground in the event of a drop of pressure in the circuit.

It is a further object to provide a governor valve in the closed circuit of the operation cycle of a Kobe pump, which governor valve operates to close offI the supply of fuel tothe primemover on the surface of the ground when a break ocpump operating from a manifold system in which l curs anyway in the closed circuit which 'in turn reduces the pressure in the closed circuit.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from a study of the annexed specification when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing of which,

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showingV the Aclosed circuit of the operation cycle of the Kobe Pump;

` Figure 2 is a sectional view of the governor valve shown at G in Figure 1-.

Referring to Figure 1, A represents generally the well bore having casing B and tubing C .piston 4.

extending into the well bore A within the casing B. The tubing C carries the Kobe pump D which is made up o! the motor M and the pump P.

A packer E seals the space between the casing B A and the'tubing C, to provide a. space F to conduct the fluid from. the well to the tank batteries H. From tank batteries H, clean oil is taken to pump J which is actuated by the gas engine I and. said oil is vpumped ldown the tubing C to actuate the motor M of the Kobe pump.

The outlet of the pump J connects with the governor valve G, the l'ow from pump J going into the bottom of` the valve and out the side into line L which connects with the tubing C. Gas as fuel to operate the gas engine I comes through line K and valve N into the top of the in detail and comprises a housing I having a screw threaded opening 2 to receive the connection between the surface pump .J and thevalve G.

nections I4 and 6 5 is open to allow the gas to pass lfrom conduit K to conduit O. After the pump J is operating for a period of time. the cap I8 is unloosed and the governor valveis unlocked. The cap I8 is adjusted, regulating the tension on the spring 20 so as to have a balanced condition in the upper part of the valve.

Oil under 4pressure to operate the Kobe pump D in the Well bore A is now flowing into the valve G at 2 through the passageway B in the piston 4 and out the outlet 3 into the line L. 'I'he cil under pressure enters the annular space t between the piston 4 and the housing I, travels Y exists in the passageway 5. 'I'he area on top of The screw threaded opening 3 connects with the line L. A piston 4 is slidable up and down within the housing I and has the port or conduit 5 therein which connects the openings 2 and 3 so as to extend the conduit for the pressure oil through the valve G. The piston has an annular space 8 entirely surrounding the piston 4 which annular space connects with a passageway 1 in the housing I. The space l connects with the opening 3 which allows the pressure fluid to flow around the space B, thence into the passageway 1, and into the' space 8 above the 'I'he top of the housing is closed by the bonnet member 9 which screw threads into the top of the housing I. 'I'he bonnet member 9 has a central bore I0 which receives the projection Il which is an integral part oi' the piston l 'Ihe projection II is enlarged at the y.point I2 and seats in an enlarged socket I3 in the bon-- net 9. Above the socket I3 are two screw threaded openings I4 and I5; the opening I4 receiving the pipe K and the opening Il receiving the 4 pipe O and carrying the gas fuel through the 'governor valve G to the gas engine J.

The projection II with enlarged 'portion I2 continues as an integral projection at IG; however, the projection is greatly reduced in `diameter over the enlargement I2 and is about half the diameter oi' the projection II. Above the openings I4 and I5, the projection I6 has a shoulder portion I1. The top of the bonnet 9 is closed by the cap I8 which has a bore I9 to receive slidably the' top of the projection I6. VBetween the bottom of the cap I8 and the shoulder I1 is placed a coil spring 20. The tension on coil spring 20 can be varied by screwing up and down on the cap member I B. The ends of the coll spring 20 are rigidly attached, one end to shoulder I1 and the other end to the bottom oi' the cap I8. When the piston 4 is pushed all .the way downward, the lower end of the piston seals on the seat 2| in the lower portion oi' the housing I.

In operation, before the pump J and the gas engine I are started, the cap I8 is screwed down, thus compressing the spring 20 against the shoulder I1 and forcing the enlarged portion into the socket I3 and the piston 4 onto the seat 2l. The

' cap I8 thus locks the piston 4 on'the seat 2l and insures that the passage 5 in piston 4 connects the jump J and conduit L. Likewise, the enlarged portion I 2 is in the socket I3, thus inthe piston is greater than the area in passage- -Y way 5 exposed to the same pressure, hence the resultant force acts to force the piston 4 onto the seat 2| in a sealed relationship. The cap I8 is adjusted s o that the tension in spring 20, which tension force acts in an opposite direction to the hydraulic force operating on the top oi piston d,

lis just sulllcient to allow the piston 4 to "iioat or be in hydraulic balance. At the same time, the gas'passage is unimpeded by the enlarged portion I2 which allows the gas to ow to the gas engine I.

If forany reason the pressure in the oil lines L and C declines suddenly or the volume demanded by the pump D increases, the dierential in pressure across the space 8 of the ported piston Il increases rapidly resulting lira' decreased force on top of the piston 4, inasmuch as the pressure in the chamber 8 is the same as that at the point 3. Since the system was in hydraulic balance, the spring tension is suiiclent to overcome the decreased force acting on the top of piston d, hence the piston 4 nofw rises, rwhich movement is transmitted through the extension II and enlargement I 2 to close ofi the entrance IQ and exit lI5 for the gas flowing to the gas engine I which'ceases to operate due to the lack of fuel.

mine what has gone wrong. In a like manner,

a graduabpressure decline or volumetric increase' in the downstream side of the oil under pressure would result in throttling the fuel supply in the engine I, thereby reducing its speed a point where the dama/ge to the subsurface pump would be minimized.

While the description of a particular embodiment of the invention has been limited to one Kobe pump in a well with one surface unit to supply said Kobe pump, it is to be understood the principles of this invention can fbe applied to a series of Kobe pumps in a `series oi wells with only one surface uni-t to service all the pumps.

lHaving thus described the invention, I wish to claim:

1. In the production of oil from an underground reservoir through a cased well bore, the combination comprising a fluid motor having a pump attached thereto suspended from tubing within the cased well lbore, a packer between the pump and the casing thus closing od the space Ibetween the casing and tubing'at the bottom vof the Iwell ibore and masking a conduit to the surface of the ground, storage tanks con necting 'with the space between the casing and the tubing, a pump on the surface of the ground actuated by an engine pumping oil from the storage tanks into the tubing to actuate the uid suring that the passageway between the corp 75 motor in the well bore, a governor valve in the line between the pump outlet on the surface of the ground and the tubing, a line supplying fuel to the engine also passing through said governor valve, each passage through the governor valve being controlledl by a close off valve, and means lwithin the governor valve which operates to close oil' the valve in the rfuel flow line in the governor valve upon a decrease of pressure in the uid'fiow line passing through the governor valve lwhich in turn causes the engine to cease operation. y

2. In the production of oil from an under'- ground reservoir through a cased well bore, the combination comprising a fluid motor having a pump attached thereto suspended from tubing within the cased well bore, a packer between =the pump and the casing thus closing oil the space between the casing and tubing at the botwm of the well bore and making a conduit to the surface of the ground, storage tanks connecting with the space between the casing and the4 tubing, a pump on the surface of rthe ground actuated by a gas engine pumping oil from the storage tanks into the tubing to actuate the iluid motcr in the well bore, a governor valve in vrthe line between the pump outlet on the surface oi' the ground and the tubing, a gas line supplying gas to the gas engine also passing through said governor valve, each passage through the governor valve being controlled by a close oil! valve, the pressure of the fluid under pressure passing through the governor valve operating to hold the valve controlling this passageway open and spring means in rthe governor valve under tension operable upon a decrease in pressure in the pressure fluid line to close of! the valve controlling the gas flow line and thus in turn cause the gas engine to cease operating.

3. In the production of oil from an underground reservoir through a cased well bore, the combination comprising a fluid motor having a pump attached thereto suspended from tubing within the cased well bore, a packer between the pump and the casing .thus closing oil' the space between the casing and tubing at the bottom Aol the fwell bore and making a conduit to the surface of the ground, storage tanks connecting with the space lbetween the casing and the tubing, a pump on the surface o1 the ground actuated by a gas engine pumping oil from the storage tanks into the tubing to actuate the fluid motor in the well bore, a governor *valve in the line between the pump outlet on the surface of the ground and the tubing, a gas line supplying gas to the gas engine also passing through said governor valve, each passage through the governor valve being controlled by a close of! valve, said valves being mounted on a common shaft and operating in conjunction, the pressure of the iluid under pressure passing through the governor valve operating to hold the valves open and spring means in the governor valve under tension operable upon a decrease in pressure in the pressure fluid line to close olf the valves controlling the passages ln the governor valve thus cutting y off the supply of gas to the'gas engine which ceases operation.

4. A governor valve structure comprising a housing, openings in the housing to connecta fluid pressure ilow line through the governor valve, a piston slidable in the housing having a passage in the body of the piston to align with the openings in the housing to carry the fluid pressure flow through the governor valve, a bonnet attached to the top of the housing having a passageway through the bonnet, a valve means in the bonnet attached to the piston in the housing and movable therewith to close ofl'the bonnet passageway, passageways in the housing connecting the top of the piston with the fluid under pressure flowing through the housingopenings and piston, said fluid under pressure holding the piston in open position 'to allow florw of pressure iluid through ther'bonnet passageway, and means within the bonnet operable upon a decrease in the iluid under pressure flowing through the passageway in the piston to close the valve controlling the passageway in the bonnet.

5. A governor valve structure comprising a housing, openings in the housing to connect a fluid pressure flow line through the governor valve, a piston slidable in the housing having a passage in the body of the piston to align with -the openings in the housing to carry the fluid pressure flow through the governor valve, a bonnet attached to the top of the housing having va passageway through the bonnet, a valve means in the bonnet attached to the piston in the housing and movable therewith to close off the bonnet passageway, passageways in the housing connecting lthe -top of -the piston with the fluid under pressure flowing through the housing, said tluid under pressure holding the piston in open position to allow flow of pressure iluid through the bonnet passageway, and spring y means within the bonnet under suillcient tension to be operable upon a decrease in the fluid under pressure flowing through the passageway in .the piston to close the valve controlling the passageway in the bonnet.

6. A governor valve struct-ure comprising a housing, openings in the housing to 'connect a fluid pressure flow line through the governor valve, a piston slidable in the housing having a passage in the body of the piston lto align with the openings in the housing to carry the fluid pressure flow through the governor valve, a bonnet attached to the top of the housing having a passageway through the bonnet, a valve means in the bonnet attached to the piston in the housing and movable therewith to close oil* the bonnet passageway, passageways in the housing connecting the top of the piston :with the fluid under pressure owing through the housing, said fluid under pressure holding the piston in open position to allow flow of pressure fluid through the bonnet passageway, a cap member on top the bonnet to mechanically hold -both valves open, a spring means between the cap member and the valve in the Ibonnet placed under tension by the cap member and said spring acting to close the valve in the bonnet upon a decrease in the iluid under pressure flowing through the passageway in the piston.

WALTER L. ALBERT, Jl. 

